Bennett Hill Preserve

This 155 acre property was a gift of Dr. Jerry Bilinski of North Chatham in 1998 to the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy. The hill towers over Clarksville, and stands only a short distance from the base of the Helderberg Escarpment. Although the top of the hill is only 400 feet above the surrounding land, it offers striking views of the Helderbergs to the north and west, and Albany to the east.

http://www.mohawkhudson.org/preserves/Bennett.htm

Bennett Hill Farm

Cattle farm on Bennett Hill Road from Bennett Hill Preserve in autumn.

June 9, 2019 Morning

Good morning! Happy Sunday. Next Sunday is Fathers Day πŸ‘¨. Sunny and 50 degrees in Dormansville, NY. 🌞 There is a south-southwest breeze at 5 mph. πŸƒ. While a cold start to the morning — with very dry conditions continuing — it’s going to be much warmer later on. If not for it being such an unusually wet spring, it would be red flag conditions today.

Today will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 79 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 17th. Maximum dew point of 50 at 9am. South wind 5 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 80 degrees. The record high of 100 was set in 1933. Almost summer weather. Still two weeks until the pools open up for the summer though.

I’m at my parents house this morning in the truck camper shell, πŸ• and I’m still a bit undecided on the day. I might do the Gas Up, although I’m a bit tired as I’ve done it a lot in recent years. 🚜  I’m thinking of also doing some fishing and hiking for a while today at Partridge Run before going to the Gas Up.Β  Also considering — possibly — of hiking back to the Cliffs of Middleburg if I’m out that way. Then I have to head home, get my clothes ready for the week, run to the store, wash the truck. Should be a pretty nice day for sure, not too humid.😎

The sun will set at 8:32 pm with dusk around 9:06 pm, which is 35 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ At sunset, look for mostly clear skies πŸŒ„ and temperatures around 67 degrees. The dew point will be 49 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 14 minutes of daytime, an increase of 46 seconds over yesterday. Should be another nice evening to sit out back if the bugs aren’t too bad.

Tonight will be mostly clear πŸŒƒ, with a low of 52 degrees at 5am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around June 1st. Maximum dew point of 49 at 7pm. South wind 6 to 9 mph. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 54 degrees. The record low of 36 occurred back in 1975.

The replacement hammock seems to work well, at least with the straps and the bag from the other hammock. At under $20 I’m happy with what I got, even if it is a bit smaller (not by a lot). Supposedly it’s a double hammock, but I wouldn’t put more then one person in it. Seems basically the same material as the other hammock, although I prefer the steel carbiners (less chance of breakage), even if they are slightly heavier.😴 But at that price if it only last for a season or two, not a big deal. I might order a second one at some point, so I have a back up in case it rips.

I ordered one of those portable multi-cell USB 18650 battery banks that a lot of people have nowadays, the model my parents like.πŸ”‹I think it would be nice to have while wilderness camping to charge up my phone when it goes flat or my radio. I am going to install another USB port — or maybe build something out of another USB charger I have — that would be always on in the cap of my truck, and leave it plugged in all of the time, ready to go in my truck. I could even use it while camping with my truck — just plug in my phone if I’m too far away from my truck to use the USB charging. With the solar panel on my truck, I’m less worried about vampire loads running down the accessory batteries upon long times parked.

On this day in 1972, severe rainfall causes a dam in the Black Hills of South Dakota to burst, creating a flood that kills 238 people and causes $160 million in damage. By far one of the most costly man-made disasters in American history. Flooding continues to be such a problem in America, probably only made worse by climate change.

Right now, looking into the long-range, Saturday with mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Maximum dew point of 57 at 8pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 78 degrees. Some other models predict it won’t be quite as nice next week, and certainly fairly cool at any rate. Bass season opens up next week, which is notable.🐑 I think I may have to work, but I’ll take it one day at a time. The following weekend — with most beaches and pools open — would be nice to get away, even if it’s just an overnight trip to Burnt-Rossman.

As previously noted, next Sunday is Fathers Day πŸ‘¨ when the sun will be setting at 8:35 pm with dusk at 9:10 pm. On that day in 2018, we had mostly sunny and temperatures between 84 and 50 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 78 degrees. We hit a record high of 96 back in 1967.

Campsite Along Red River